Southern Muse Journal

Manly Wade Wellman, Rediscovered

2012-01-26T02:19:00.000-05:00

I have a book of short stories, in which is my favorite ghost story, "Where Angels Fear," by Manly Wade Wellman. The book is Hauntings: Tales of the Supernatural, edited by Henry Mazzeo and illustrated by Edward Gorey. This was a favorite old book. My sister and I had traded it back and forth for twenty years, panicking if we thought one or the other had lost it. (We now have back-ups!)

Because of the short story, I searched for other writings by Manly Wade Wellman, and boy, did I hit the Mother Lode! Turns out, he did quite a bit of writing in and of the Appalachian mountains, though his roots lay more in a curious mixture of African and British culture. I just read What Dreams May Come. I enjoyed it, but feel that I really need to do some research in legend and lore to get the full gist of it. Now I'm reading short stories of Appalachian folklore in The Valley So Low. I've only read two stories so far, but feel richly rewarded. Interesting writer!

Biographical website: http://www.manlywadewellman.com/

Murial B. Williams of LaGrange College

2012-01-19T01:02:00.000-05:00

Murial Brittain Williams (1923-1999) was a professor of English literature at LaGrange College, in LaGrange, Georgia for nearly thirty years, retiring in 1992. Her lectures were brilliant and funny ~ she made literature come alive for her students. The Murial B. Williams Award for Excellence in Literary Studies was named in her memory. She was the author of Marriage: Fielding's Mirror of Morality, published by the University of Alabama in 1973. Read the full biography of Murial B. Williams at Southern Muse.

Southern Muse 2012

2012-01-03T21:56:00.001-05:00

Southern Muse, in 2012, comes to this, my sadly neglected blog, to say again, "Happy New Year," now that the party is over. Our family celebrated Christmas together, as families tend to do, and then rang in the New Year in a much smaller way. At Christmas, the house was full, if only for a moment, as sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews came to share their company with us. And though our huge, old Southern clan has grown smaller, several new little beings came to dust off the cobwebs of it and add their joyous imprint on our lives. Babies, babies, babies! That humongous, rowdy old Southern clan of mine is no longer recognizable as such. But, having watched Appalachia vanish, I can say that it would have done their hearts good to see the new life that has sprouted from those old roots...

Southern Muse Photos

2011-11-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

Southern Muse has several on-line photo collections, including Picasa and Flickr. The Flickr URI is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernmuse/ .

The public gallery on Picasa is at: https://picasaweb.google.com/SouthernMuseImages .

Admiring the Photos of Danny Young

2011-08-15T12:20:00.001-04:00

Southern Muse is admiring the photos of Danny Young. I was looking for information on the blue heron (bird) when I ran across this website and was very admiring of the photos there: Young Photography , featuring the photography of Danny Young. He has some spectacular shots of birds. The pileated woodpecker in flight was the image that came up in search. I was wowed. That had to be hard to get. Quite often, I see a huge pileated woodpecker in the woods outside my home, and sometimes see one at Cohutta Springs. It takes my breath every time I see it. I recently did a little watercolor of a pileated woodpecker in a berry tree, inspired by the one I see at Cohutta Springs. Thanks, Mr. Young. I love being surprised by finding some unexpected great site when I'm not looking for one. I'll add this one to the Southern Muse directory as soon as I get a chance.

Spring Place Festival

2011-07-01T00:21:00.001-04:00

Spring Place Festival, Spring Place, Georgia: The Spring Place Community Festival (near Chatsworth, Georgia) will be held on Saturday, August 20 at Old Spring Place Methodist Church in Spring Place community near Chatsworth, Georgia. It begins at 8 a.m., with an auction at 10 a.m. This is the 14th annual event. This year's theme is All Roads Lead to Spring Place. A display of Historic Georgia and Murray County maps will be the theme feature. This is a small, old-fashioned festival, but lots of fun and homemade goodies, with a small-town feel. There will be a new and used book sale, bake sale, concessions, indoor flea market, raffle and auction. The event is co-sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club. Proceeds benefit the Old Spring Place Methodist Church Preservation Fund of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. Hard to believe it's that time of year again!

Event: 14th Annual Spring Place Community Festival
Date & Time: Saturday, August 20, 2011, beginning 8:00 a.m.
Auction: 10:00 a.m.
Location: Old Spring Place Methodist Church, Elm Street, Chatsworth, Georgia
Theme: All Roads Lead to Spring Place
Co-Sponsors: Whitfield-Murray Historical Society and Spring Place Ruritan Club

Note: The historic Spring Place community is about seven tenths (0.7) miles south of the Chief Vann House. Take Georgia Highway 225 South from the Vann House, go about 7/10 of a mile, turn left on Elm Street, and see the old church on the right. For Google Maps or Map Quest, search "Elm Street, Chatsworth, GA."

Bits of Hope in the Search for Amelia Earhart

2010-12-18T11:22:00.002-05:00

Researchers, still on the trail of Amelia Earhart, have discovered some scant bone fragments on Nikumaroro Island (once known as Gardner Island). Though they may or may not be human bones, there is enough other evidence from the island to give a glimmer of hope that the mystery of Earhart's disappearance may, at last, be solved. The bones have been sent to an Oklahoma lab for DNA analysis.
Mystery solved?
http://www.wibw.com/localnews/headlines/Amelia_Earhart_Mystery_Solved_Bones_Examined_112110949.html

The heel of a woman's American-made shoe, vintage 1930s; a sexton's box; and miscellaneous pieces of aircraft; reports from nearby villagers; and documentation of radio signals of the era, are some of the clues that have led TIGHAR searchers to be hopeful. Are they grasping at straws? The bones may not be human. The shoes may be of the wrong size. Villager reports have bits of legend attached to them. The best evidence is a report of radio signals of the era.

But, if radio signals, thought to be from Earhart, were heard from Gardner Island not long after the crash, why wasn't the island immediately searched? Answer: It was (some days later), but only cursorily, and from high in the air. Signs of recent habitation by humans were seen, but may have been misinterpreted. After that, probable misinformation in reports just added more confusion...
Evidence of Human Habitation and Other Clues
http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Answering_Wave.html

Sounds like the usual... human nature, misinformation, bureaucratic red tape, and well, Murphy's Law, and "what if..." We may never know the answer to the riddle; but, it doesn't hurt to hope.

Georgia Ballot: Vote NO on Amendment 1

2010-10-25T18:35:00.001-04:00

On November 2nd, the Georgia ballot will contain several proposed amendments. Amendment 1 very misleading. Vote "No" on amendment 1! This amendment makes it easier for companies to enforce "No-compete" contracts that actually restrict competition during and after employment. No-compete contracts are already legal. They allow companies to protect trade secrets for a reasonable time. But what if out-of-state companies could keep Georgians from starting businesses that were perceived as "competition"? What if a company could keep you from working for their competitor for the rest of your life? What if they could keep you from starting a business, ever? Would they do it? Of course they would! Fortunately, Georgia law has checks and balances that keep no-compete contracts from becoming too restrictive. Georgians have a right to work! Entrepreneurs have a right to start their own businesses. Georgia law currently prevents corporations from over-reaching in their attempts to restrict workers from getting a new job. We don't need an amendment that will make it easier for businesses that want to have a monopoly in an industry; especially a vague amendment that can easily be misconstrued. True, the amendment would allow "blue-penciling" by judges, which makes some sense. But can we actually trust judges to comprehend the nuances of every contract that comes before them? The consequences of allowing judges to blue-pencil contracts can have unforeseen consequences. Judges in some states, for instance, have actually tried to make revisions of contracts (rather than just blue-lining undesirable portions of the contracts). That is an illegal use of the blue-pencil rule, though the judges may not have intended to abuse the law. Contracts can be confusing ~ even to judges. Currently, if a contract is too confusing, a Georgian judge simply voids the whole contract. This is a safer route than trying to rewrite the contract in court. If we need clarification of our no-compete laws, let it be done through multi-party commissions that compile state guidelines for companies; or through legislation; but not through a series of complicated judicial decisions! Leave the law alone. Vote NO on Amendment #1.

Here is the amendment:

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to make Georgia more economically competitive by authorizing legislation to uphold reasonable competitive agreements?

Does this sound like an amendment that actually RESTRICTS COMPETITION DURING AND AFTER EMPLOYMENT? No, it does not. Don't be fooled by the fraudulent wording of the amendment. Just say NO!

Reference articles: s
T. Michael Flinn: Vote NO on Georgia Proposed Amendment 1
http://www.georgiaconsumerlawyer.com/index.php?mact=CGBlog,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=12&cntnt01returnid=68

Ballotpedia: Georgia Employment Contract Enforcement
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Georgia_Employment_Contract_Enforcement,_Amendment_1_(2010)

The Political Vine: The Inside Dope on Georgia Politics
http://politicalvine.com/politicalrumors/odds-and-ends/no-on-amendment-1/

Spring Place Festival, Spring Place, Georgia

2010-06-30T03:14:00.001-04:00

Spring Place, Georgia: “Digging up Spring Place Treasures” is the theme for the 13th Annual Spring Place Community Festival set for Saturday, August 21st at the Old Spring Place Methodist Church. A new and used book sale, food concessions, a bake sale, a large indoor flea market, and other activities will begin at 8 a.m. Highlighting the day is the auction which will include artist prints, book sets, coin sets, antiques, rugs, and gift cards donated by area businesses and Spring Place families! The auction begins at 10:00. The day will also feature archaeologist Russell Cutts who will examine artifacts that have been “dug up” by area residents. Three framed Spring Place prints by local artist Erik Gallman will also be raffled at the close of the day’s events.

Old Spring Place Methodist Church is about a half mile south of the Chief Vann House in historic Spring Place, Georgia, just off of Hwy. 225 (turn onto Golf Course Drive). Proceeds from the festival will go to the Old Spring Place Methodist Church Preservation Fund of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. The Festival is co-sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club. For more information contact 706-695-2740 or 706-695-2110.

Morning Mist on Old Summerour...

2010-06-18T06:48:00.007-04:00

What a magical trip to work it was, this midsummer morning. Dusk made the sky slightly pink and the mountains a pale blue. There was a light mist lying along the hollows and bottoms. Raindrops, still clinging to the tall grass and wildflowers, caught my high beams, and a little rabbit risked his skin, darting across the road. The old road is familiar to me ~ I've travelled it many and many a time. The curves of it are like an old familiar tune. I come to a stop at Old Summerour Road, where the pretty old cemetery quietly beckons ~ reminding me that we are mortal, in spite of the immortal beauty of the place. Next is the oasis, I call it, where an odd little island of trees looms lush and black against the morning sky. Then, one of my old familiar landmarks, a line of hanging gourds, home to martins and a gardening tradition dating back to the Moravians, or maybe even the Cherokee. I climb the hill, watching for deer, to a secret, lovely lake, still as a mirror, with the mist just discovering the morning sun. It creeps away as I step out of the car, keys jangling, my mind already turning to my morning cuppa...

Headrick Family Tree

2010-06-11T05:30:00.010-04:00

The Headrick family tree has been a project of nearly twenty-five years of research. Over the years, the Southern Muse archives has collected quite a few photos, marriage licenses, death certificates, and photos of tombstones. These are all grist to the genealogist's mill! I have written up various brief stories about the family and printed reports; but, I haven't yet done the complete, all-inclusive book of Headricks. I have uploaded some of my Headrick photos, marriage licenses, and other documents, though. That might make it a little easier for the next generation. Scanning is slow, so I still have a long way to go ~ but this is a start...

Photos and Documents: Headrick Family of Murray County, Georgia

ABOVE: Alice Headrick Burns and Drusilla Headrick Grigsby

Goodbye, Julia Sugarbaker

2010-04-11T08:55:00.003-04:00

Southern Muse says goodbye to Dixie Carter, better known as "Julia Sugarbaker," of Designing Women. To her character is attributed one of our favorite quotes of all time:

"I'm saying this is the South. And we're proud of our crazy people. We don't hide them up in the attic. We bring 'em right down to the living room and show 'em off. See, Phyllis, no one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask what side they're on."

Ditto.

For what it's worth, nobody on earth could have delivered those lines like Dixie Carter. Thanks, Dixie! You will be sadly missed.

On the Track of a Yankee Soldier

2010-03-25T12:26:00.006-04:00

For about a year now, I've been on the track of a little Yankee soldier. He's not an ancestor ~ just a young fellow who crossed paths with one of mine. History is so much more intriguing from a personal angle. There's nothing like the family tree to get you digging into the routine events of 150 years ago ~ give or take...

When I first got interested in my young Union soldier, he was just a name and an interesting letter in a pension file. Now, I've found myself in a study of Civil War soldiers, complicated battle campaigns, and northern regimental histories. It's amazing how much documentary evidence is out there, once you start digging. At the beginning of the War, my little Yank was full of beans, tired of drilling, itching to see some battle action, and shrugging off the colonel's scolding should he happen to "cus up eny rusticks." By the end of the War, he'd seen plenty of battle action, was permanently scarred, and had, perhaps, learned to appreciate such rustics for providing "the most tender care" that loyalists in a poor country could bestow.

My guy played a small part in a big struggle and lost a limb for his trouble. While one great-great-grandfather was busy losing a leg under the Confederate flag at Yorktown, my Unionist great-great grandfather was risking life and limb to save a young Yank. That young man went home to Michigan ~ older, wiser, and perhaps with a whole new perspective about the South.

Mountain Bluebird

2010-02-19T18:21:00.003-05:00

I think I saw a mountain bluebird today. They are birds of the American West, and of Mexico, so North Georgia seems outside the range. According to one site, though, they do sometimes show up in the eastern states in winter, and as far north as Alaska. These small birds are a brilliant cyan blue, very different from the softer, true blue of the usual bluebirds ~ and there's no red on his breast. This one was on the fence of a pasture at Cohutta Springs Conference Center. The first one I ever spotted was in Varnell, Georgia, some years ago. I've seen maybe three or four since, all near Crandall. A couple of days ago I saw an owl. I've only seen a handful of those in my lifetime. He was perched atop some roadkill. The face was very round and cream-colored, with no prominent ear feathers. I can't decide if he was a barred owl or a barn owl. They're really not that much alike, but I didn't get to look at him closely. That same day, I spotted two flocks of redbirds, of about eight or ten each. They looked smaller than cardinals and didn't seem to have a hood (though I could have missed this detail). I've looked for similar birds on-line. The closest I found to it was the summer tanager (not to be confused with the scarlet tanager, which has black on its wing). North Georgia is definitely outside the range for summer tanagers in winter, though they come here to breed in summer, according to the range maps. So... I'm just a little confused. (I'm no expert on birds ~ but when I spot an interesting one, I try to find a description to figure out what I've seen.)

Mountain Bluebird: http://the.owyhees.com/bluebird.htm
Summer Tanager:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Featured_photo/Images/Bigpic/suta3.jpg

Our Old Rock Building Will Be Saved

2010-01-19T08:51:00.002-05:00

It looks as if our Old Rock Building will be saved after all! When lightning struck the building last year, it broke our community's heart. It is one of the few native-mountain-stone buildings in the state of Georgia. It's also on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic landmark, both for its status as one of the earliest consolidated high schools in the state, but also for its wonderful architecture. The building is representative of American Craftsman (or Arts and Crafts) architecture. The facade is Mission influenced. It was built "from the heart" by local construction workers who were proud of their job. Local citizens had several meetings to talk about how they might save the old building, if possible. Everyone wanted the building saved. The big fear was that tax money would be spent. Of course, no one wanted that. Now it appears that insurance generously covers the restoration of such a landmark. Grants should be forthcoming, as well. Some have expressed worries about rebuilding in such an economy. True, we are all hurting. But rebuilding The Rock will put our local construction laborers back to work and will heal our hearts. The Murray County School board is always great about using local labor. A central office is needed, and the property will make a fine complex for the future. Hurray for Murray County Board of Education!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T01:49:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! We watched the Twilight Zone marathon on SciFi, switched to ABC and waited for the ball to drop in Times Square, did the countdown, ran outside at midnight to blow some horns and make lots of noise. We toasted the New Year and took some pictures. We let the little kids stay up, too. Some of the older ones went out to eat and do karaoke. This morning, we had a late breakfast, watched some more TZ, and lazed around all day. Hmm, does this sound a lot like last New Year's? I think we have started a tradition. Some of the gang took off for Tennessee to see kinfolk this evening. All in all, it was a good New Year.

Chiggers, Black Bears, and Assorted Creepy Crawlies

2009-10-14T11:38:00.003-04:00

Someone the other day complained about a little red bug they'd found in their bed. I believe to my soul it was a chigger. Yep, at up to one-twentieth of an inch, some of those little red boogers are big enough to see. They don't actually suck your blood or burrow under your skin, though. What they really do is latch onto your socks, crawl up and find a warm, comfortable spot, insert a straw, and proceed to liquefy your skin cells, which they will then suck for about four days. And you will itch like a dog in a flea factory. Nice. And everyone who visits asks if they will see a bear. But someone I met last week was scared of a squirrel. Oh, come on! Now, you can come to North Georgia and complain about chiggers. We'll grant you that. And gnats... that's a given. Black bears? I don't blame you. But being a-skeered of a lil old squirrel? How chicken is chicken?

So be forewarned... If it flies, itches, sucks blood, latches onto your underpants, crawls into your bed uninvited, or bites off your head and spits it out ~ it is native to North Georgia and you will very likely meet one here... Welcome to the mountains!

Hillbilly Hot Tub

2009-10-13T23:56:00.001-04:00

Here's the other commercial I was looking for. I just saw this for the first time last night. Sick. Really sick! I love it. Quizznos.... Ummm, ummm, ummm. Tasty!

Hilarious Geico Emergency Road Care Commercial with talking pothole

2009-10-13T23:48:00.001-04:00

I can't get enough of this crazy commercial. Surely it has to be Reese Witherspoon's voice... that's what I'd swear too, but then I find that there are quite a few wild guesses out there as to whose voice this is. I don't think it's that girl from Miami Vice. Her voice is much flatter. If you've never seen this ~ please treat yourself to a laugh. Enjoy!

Old Rock Building in Ashes

2009-09-27T07:56:00.002-04:00

This morning, while it was still dark, I drove by the old rock building. Smoke was still rising from the ruins of the old stone walls, and a faint glow came from what was left of the windows. It had almost a majestic look to it... but the light of day will bring back the dismal truth of it. There is nothing but a charred black shell left of the old building that we so loved. Native stone, of course, does not burn. It only blackens. The roof is gone, though, leaving charred two-by-fours sticking out like burnt toothpicks. Any hope of renovation is gone, as well. No phoenix is expected to rise from these ashes. What is left of the old rock building will most likely be demolished.

References:

Daily Citizen News article by Rachel Brown: Rock Building Burns

Photo of the rock building fire by Misty Watson of the Daily Citizen News.

(More photos of the fire are currently available at pictures.daltoncitizen.com. See Rock Building Fire 9/26/09).

The old rock building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Murray County High School Historic District in Chatsworth, Georgia.

The Old Rock Building Burned

2009-09-26T18:52:00.005-04:00

Painting of the Old Rock Building

(Chatsworth, Georgia): The Old Rock Building burned today. I feel as if I've lost an old friend. The old high school has stood since 1934 ~ such a beautiful old building! It was on the National Register of Historic Places. I have a weakness for buildings constructed of stone ~ especially the old thick-hewn mountain stone. The rock building had that lovely old native-stone construction. I loved the old facade, too. The mission style gave it such character.

Not long ago, we were raising the money to have it renovated so that it could be used as the central offices for Murray County schools. It was starting to look good after all the work that had been done on the exterior. Now it is in ruins. I had hoped that the story was untrue, or that the fire was minor; but I've just seen a picture of it. The fire was devastating ~ The stone outer walls are about the only thing left of the building.

I haven't been over to see the ruins of the building. Ironically, I was too busy escaping the flash floods that covered Murray County and all of North Georgia today...

Whitfield-Murray Historical Society News

2009-09-09T13:14:00.002-04:00

(Chatsworth, Georgia): The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society will have an indoor flea market at the Old Spring Place Methodist Church in Spring Place community near Chatsworth, Georgia on Friday and Saturday, September 18 and 19 from 8-2 each day. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the church preservation fund. Also, there will be a used book sale that day and publications and gift items from the historical society will also be available.

Recent donations to the old church historic collection will also be on display for the first time that day as well. Among them are hand-tufted bedspreads and a child's chair made by Confederate veteran Monteville Roberts for his grandson around 1872. These items were given to the society by Peggy Roberts Cochran of Dalton. Also, Mr. Doyle Pritchett has given the society a framed diploma, class picture, and graduation invitation from the Lucy Hill High School Class of 1926 which belonged to his mother, Beulah Ballew Pritchett who grew up in Spring Place.

The old Spring Place Methodist Church is located on Spring Street, off of Highway 225 in Spring Place community (South of the Chief Vann House).

Spring Place School Reunion

2009-08-21T20:03:00.003-04:00

(Murray County, Georgia): Spring Place School, the oldest educational facility in northwest Georgia, will hold a reunion on August 30, 2009 at 1 o'clock at Spring Place Baptist Church, in Spring Place Community (near Chatsworth, Georgia). The event will honor two special teachers who spent much of their long careers at the “old” school — Mrs. Estelle Townsend and Mrs. Jean Ballew. All surviving teachers from the old school will be recognized. Former students, teachers, and staff are invited to gather at the Spring Place Baptist Church for a covered dish lunch and an afternoon of sharing memories. For many years an annual reunion was held to commemorate school days in Spring Place, but none has been held in recent years. It is hoped that this year's reunion will be the beginning of a new tradition.

Though the current elementary school building itself dates back only to 1969, Spring Place School has a history dating all the way back to the Moravian mission of 1801, when it was called Springplace (one word) Mission School. Read more about the history of Spring Place School. Through the years, students attended schools variously called Lucy Hill Institute, Lucy Hill High School, Lucy Hill Grammar School, and finally Spring Place (two words!) Elementary. Anyone who attended these facilities is invited to join the reunion crowd this year. On special display will be pictures, paintings, and memorabilia from the various schools at Spring Place. Former students have been asked to share stories and their memories of Mrs. Townsend and Mrs. Ballew in tribute to these fine educators.

Event: Spring Place School Reunion
Time/Date: August 30, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.
Location: Spring Place Baptist Church
Address: 441 Hwy. 225 S, Chatsworth, Georgia

Map

Those who are coordinating plans for the reunion are Martha Sue Wilbanks Ridley (706-695-3002), Bernice Burger Elrod (706-695-3039), Ann Green Bailey (706-695-6264), Kinma Bond (706-695-2411), and Tim Howard (706-695-2740). The reunion is sponsored by the Spring Place Historic Township and the Spring Place Ruritan Club.

History of Spring Place School

Southern Muse's Sweet Rose Punch

2009-08-03T15:53:00.008-04:00

We made this sweet punch for a wedding, and have now been volunteered as the official server of punch at our baby showers and parties.

Southern Muse's Sweet Rose Punch:

One Family-sized tea bag, steeped in 3 cups boiling water
One cup of sugar
One quart of black-cherry juice
(or) generous pinch of black-cherry Kool-Aid® (abt. 3/4 tsp.)
One whole bottle of imitation almond extract*
1/4 cup vanilla extract
Capful of mint extract (abt. 1 tsp.)
One large can (46 oz.) pineapple juice, well chilled
Red food coloring (optional)
One container of pineapple sherbet (keep frozen till ready to serve)
Two liters of ginger ale, well chilled
Chopped pineapple and/or maraschino cherries, optional

Mix sugar into tea while still hot. Add cherry juice (or pinch of Kool-Aid®), stirring well. Add extracts. Pour in chilled pineapple juice, stirring well. Add red food coloring until mixture is a deep rose pink. Set aside in large container. Just before serving, place pineapple sherbet in large punch bowl. (Add chopped pineapple and cherries, optional.) Pour punch mixture over sherbet, until bowl is about half full. Fill the rest of the way with ginger ale, pouring over the sherbet to make it foam. As punch is served, occasionally add more of the punch mixture and ginger ale, about half and half.

*If using pure almond extract, make sure your guests are not allergic to nuts!

Baby Shower Cookies

2009-08-03T13:13:00.006-04:00

These baby shower cookies are quick and easy. Southern Muse^TM is not the real Martha Stewart type ~ we're more, I'd say, like the Erma Bombeck type. If a cake that is baked by us doesn't explode or fall, then it will be burned. Still, we've managed to come up with a really cute idea for baby-shower cookies. We're so proud of it, we plan to submit it to Martha Stewart. If you really are the Martha Stewart type, you can go the extra mile and make homemade sugar cookies to use as the base for these baby-shower cookies. Otherwise, just use with store-bought cookies, as we did. We used Keebler Fudge Shoppe® Half-Dipped Grahams as the base. They are plain on one side and chocolate-fudge dipped on the other. Add a squirt or dollop of pink, blue, or white cake icing on either side, then top it with plain or chocolate Nabisco® Teddy Grahams. Press just hard enough to spread the icing out slightly so that it looks like a blanket surrounding the teddy bear cookie. For our girl-baby shower, we used pink icing and white icing. We used a ready-to-squeeze tube of icing with a star tip. Starting in the middle, we squeezed a figure-eight onto the cookie, then pressed the Teddy Graham cookie on top. On others, we used the leaf-tip, allowing the icing to overlap in scrolls, like blankets. (Switching tips from time-to-time will give you a mixed-pink-and-white blend of icing.) We also tried this on plain round sugar cookies, which looked just as cute. The cookies also work as birthday-party cookies, and you can use any color of icing.

Whitfield-Murray Historical Society: New Website!

2009-05-30T13:46:00.003-04:00

(Dalton, Georgia, May 30, 2009): Whitfield-Murray Historical Society is now on-line! The historical society finally has a website. The official home page of Whitfield-Murray Historical Society is:

Whitfield-Murray Historical Society
http://www.whitfield-murrayhistoricalsociety.org/

Whitfield-Murray Historical Society is headquartered at Crown Gardens and Archives, 715 Chattanooga Avenue, Dalton, Georgia. The organization researches, maintains, and preserves historical and genealogical data and structures in Whitfield County, Georgia and Murray County, Georgia.

A Prairie Home Companion: The News from Lake Wobegon, February 14, 2009

2009-05-23T08:08:00.001-04:00

Of love and marriage in a small town...

Jean Redpath: Barbarry Allan

2009-05-23T07:39:00.001-04:00

Barbary Allan, beautifully done! Where are my Jean Redpath albums? I want to hear "My Tocher's the Jewel"...

Flat Footing

2009-05-23T07:09:00.001-04:00

Here's a bit of old-time fiddlin' and cloggin' (or, "flat-footin,'" as they call it)... Thanks to Philip, who sent me this video, of his wife's uncle Tommy Jarrell...

Whitfield-Murray Historical Society Preservation Awards

2009-05-09T06:03:00.003-04:00

(Chatsworth, Georgia): Whitfield-Murray Historical Society will hold its annual Historic Preservation Awards and Scholarships ceremony on Sunday, May 17th at Murray County Senior Center in Chatsworth, Georgia. Awards will be presented to area individuals who have made significant contributions to the preservation of history in Whitfield or Murray County. Scholarships will be awarded to several area students from Whitfield and Murray County High Schools. Those who won scholarships completed projects or essays on local-area history.

Event:
Whitfield-Murray Historical Society Annual Preservation Awards
Date & Time: Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 2:30 p. m.
Location: Murray County Senior Center, Chatsworth, Georgia

Tales from Persiphonia

2009-05-07T12:25:00.004-04:00

Playing around on Facebook has gotten to be part of my daily routine. My first love and addiction was making Flair. I was a Flair-making machine there, for a few weeks. Now I've discovered games. One of my co-workers got me hooked on Robin Hood. I played it incessantly for days, barely stopping for sleep. (They attack while you sleep! And ya gotta sleep sometime...)

Quite a few other games followed. Other game junkies see that game status and pounce, like pushers, on fresh meat. Their thinking? If she's in Robin Hood, she might join my mafia! ...my pirate crew! my zoo! ...my metropolis!

Metropolis has turned out to be a rather stressful game. You fill your city with people, then try to keep them happy. But it's hard to keep those ungrateful brats happy. They want houses! They want healthcare! They want low taxes! And you can't earn revenue without growth. Metropolis suggests that people connect cities to help them grow, so I obliged. My little city, Graytower, is starting to grow. But along with growth comes unhappy citizens. How's a mayor to manage? My zoo is so much less stressful. The llamas just stand around and chew their cud.

It was while looking for connections for Graytower that I ran across this delightful blog, Tales from Persiphonia. Now, here's a mayor with a sense of humor! She takes her city seriously. The residents there are real. Tales of Persiphonia is a fun, rather zany read. I knew right away that this mayor was a contender. Just take a look at her motto: Normalus Izzo Overraticus. I must've been born there!

Tales from Persiphonia
http://persiphonia.wordpress.com/

Peacock Alley: A Community Celebration (by Brookwood School)

2009-04-23T21:11:00.002-04:00

(Dalton, Georgia): Brookwood School will present a history event to celebrate the history of Dalton's bedspread and carpet industry. "Peacock Alley: A Community Celebration" will feature art, dance, poetry, and music, and community history. "Simple Gifts" was conceived and directed by Sandra Hughes, with musical accompaniment by Paul Byrum and friends. There will also be photography, spoken word poetry, and guitar by Mason Gavin and Nicky Millwood, along with Community conversation, music, art, video, and a living history exhibit. Creative Arts Guild is a partnering organization.

(Historic background): Dalton, known as the Carpet Capital of the World, is known for the manufacture of tufted carpet. The industry had its beginnings in a humble cottage bedspread industry that started with one handmade bedspread, tufted by Catherine Evans (who later became Catherine Evans Whitener). Evans' bedspreads became so popular with tourists, that Evans devised a folk method of transferring the patterns to speed up the process. Local families sold the spreads to tourists along highway 41, who enjoyed buying them off of spreadlines. One favorite motif was the colorful peacock: hence the nickname, "Peacock Alley," for old U.S. 41. "Simple Gifts," an excerpt from a dance and drama tribute to Catherine Evans Whitener, will be a highlight of the exhibit. Evans was honored by being inducted into Georgia Woman of Achievement in 2001.

(Dates, Location, Information):
This event will be held on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 6:30 pm at First Presbyterian Church, 510 S. Tibbs Road, Dalton, Georgia. For more information, visit the Brookwood School website: http://www.bkwdschool.org/

Polk County Ramp Tramp Festival

2009-04-11T08:53:00.008-04:00

Polk County, Tennessee: The Polk County Ramp Tramp Festival is coming up, mid-April (dates below). Like many festivals, the Ramp Tramp celebrates the Appalachian culture and lifestyle. Appalachian people were known for scraping a living out of rock and dirt. They knew what to pick and where to find it ~ what made good food and what made medicine. Poke salet (poison unless cooked right ~ and even then, questionable); ramp, blackberries, huckleberries, sassafras, dandelion, black gum, and scaly-bark hickory nuts; all grew wild in the woods and mountains of Appalachia. Used to, so did the nearly extinct American Chestnut ~ but that's another story...

Ramp, a type of lily bulb, is this festival's feature. Ramp is recognized by its broad, flat leaves. It tastes like onion or garlic. Every year, Polk Countians and friends come together for the Ramp Tramp (The Digging of the Ramp). It's an all-day hike up into the mountains ~ something the Appalachians used to do quite often, and think nothing of it, before the couch-potato culture conquered their will and spirit. A day or so later, Ramp Trampers clean and cook their harvest, to be served up as folk-inspired meals of fried-ramp and eggs, fried potatoes, streaked meat, white beans, and cornbread (though not as good as my Mama's cornbread, I guarantee). Bluegrass and gospel music, auction, crafts and a ramp-eating contest top off the festival.

Dates: Ramp Tramp (The Digging of the Ramps all-day hike): Wed., April 22nd (Rain Date: Thurs., April 23rd); meet 8 a.m. at the Polk County courthouse. Music, meal, and festival events: Sat., April 25th, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Camp McCroy (Polk County 4-H Camp) in the Greasy Creek community of Polk County, located 2 1/2 miles off Hwy. 64 on Hwy. 30, between Ocoee and Ducktown, Tennessee. Bluegrass and gospel by Wolf Creek Bluegrass and Steel String Session. And of course, there'll be ramps and cornbread aplenty to eat. Adults $8. Children under 12 $4.

MORE INFO: RAMP-TRAMP WEBSITE

Antiques Road Show

2009-03-30T20:00:00.002-04:00

Antiques Road Show: Chattanooga, Tennessee ~ Oops, I almost forgot to remind everybody that tonight is the night for Antiques Roadshow to air the first of their three-week shows in Chattanooga! My sister and niece managed to get tickets, and they went to the Roadshow. They had a blast and had a few things appraised ~ they were happy with their little "treasures." None of them got to be on the show, though. We teased them and said we'd be keeping our eyes out for shots of them trying to bribe the camera man or duck under the ropes to get on TV!

Mark Pace to Speak at Dalton State College for WMHS

2009-03-18T19:21:00.003-04:00

Dalton, GA –- At 94, Mark Pace doesn't show any signs of slowing down. The long-time editor of Dalton, Georgia's Daily Citizen newspaper retired in 1982 and joined North Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, where he continues today in the Marketing and Communications Department. Pace headed Dalton's newsroom during the major events of the 20th century, including the Vietnam War and the Kennedy assassination. He saw Dalton's textile industry grow from its cottage-chenille-bedspread roots into a multi-billion-dollar tufted-carpet industry as Dalton became "The Carpet Capital of the World." Mark Pace will be the speaker for the March meeting of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, which will be held at the James E. Brown Center of Dalton State College on Tuesday, March 24th, at 7:00 p.m. Pace was a 2007 recipient of Whitfield-Murray Historical Society's Preservation Award. He has written one book for NGEMC and is currently working on another one for the corporation's 2011 Diamond Anniversary. At 94, Pace still writes a weekly personal column for The Daily Citizen. He has been a correspondent for several major newspapers, including the Chattanooga Times and Free Press. The public is invited to attend the lecture, free of charge. You can visit Whitfield-Murray Historical Society's Facebook Fan page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dalton-GA/Whitfield-Murray-Historical-Society/37635363514

EVENT:

Mark Pace (speaker)
Whitfield-Murray Historical Society
Meeting: Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
James E. Brown Center, Dalton State College
650 College Drive
Dalton, GA 30720

Sunday Cat and The Artful Dodger

2009-01-07T13:38:00.002-05:00

The bottom dropped out of the sky and it rained hard and steady all day yesterday. The next county over had flash flooding. We didn't get out at all, except to feed the Sunday cat, our Sunday visitor and from-time-to-time sojourner. She has taken up with again with us for a piece. She limps now, and the once-pretty tabby face begins to show signs of wear, as a degraded woman whose eyes have dark circles under them, and shows hints of new distrust. We hope that she is not again in the family way. Last time, she presented us with four kittens, four wild little things. They stayed long enough for one to grow semi-tame and one to grow less cautious. The third was a timid creature, too shy and fearful to be fully tamed. The fourth, a pretty, furry little tabby mix whose long fur tempted one's petting hands to reach out hopefully, was a sly, resentful fellow. He never forgot a grudge, and therefore, could not be tamed. We called him fuzzy bottom, but I shall rename him, after the fact, to The Artful Dodger. The fat booger would not come forth to be touched and resented our intrusion into his mealtime; yet, he did not go hungry, for he was a wizard at pilfering food from the others. One day the mother decided, I suppose, that the tamish ones were getting a mite too comfortable; so, she picked up without notice and took off during the night, kittens in tow. One ice-cold morning, The Artful Dodger came back, changed, shivering, terrified. He was off his equilibrium. Hunger will do that to a fellow. He informed us in desperate kitten-screams that he was ravenous. We complied with food, he ate, and thenceforth we never saw him again.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T19:15:00.003-05:00

We await our friends and family, who come to join us on this New Year's Eve. Ours is not a big, festive party. We eat some chili, we drink coffee, tea, hot chocolate and Cokes. We turn on the TV and watch the ball drop in Times Square. At the stroke of midnight, we run outside and make some noise. We blow the horns. Our neighbors, far off across the pasture, might shoot some fireworks. We drink a toast to the New Year, of champagne or wine coolers, for the really wild and daring; of sparkling white grape juice for the tame. We play some games or watch an old movie. We catch up on what's going on in the rest of the world, what happened during the year. My nieces, one by one, will drop off to sleep. Or this year, it might be the old folks who can't stay up all night. Ours is a quiet New Year's Eve, but nice and cozy. Tomorrow, we shall eat black-eyed peas with ham hocks, and greens. It is our tradition, and portends prosperity for the New Year. Though I'm not quite sure how well it has worked in the past. Perhaps if we had stuck to collards! For turnip greens are our greens of choice. Happy New Year!

Three Panes of Light

2008-12-30T10:24:00.003-05:00

Three small shapes have formed in the light that touches our sheer white curtains. Three tombstone shapes, but tombstones are too dark and morbid and solid a metaphor, of clodded graves and crypts and death. So perhaps they are three ghosts. But ghosts are vague, shimmery, quavering things, curvy and mystical; indecisive; wavering, as it were, between comedy and terror. Not at all, these sharp-edged, curved-top, near-rectangle shapes that grace my window this morning. The soft folds of our drapes give thin, wispy legs to the shapes, ready for silly cartoon men to take to their spindly legs and dance about. But cartoon men are all wrong on this quiet, peaceful day. The shapes of light lie too still to inspire the energetic dancing and chattering of whimsical little men. It breaks the spell. It ruins the mood. In the end, they are just three still panes of light on a pale curtain in a silent room, that captivate and cheer me... then quietly disappear.

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-22T23:45:00.002-05:00

Christmas at our house used to be both lavish and simple. It was lavish simply because there were so many of us. All of the brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, would come pouring into the house bearing gifts. Truly, the rug under our tree did runneth over. The jumble of presents literally poured out into the next room. Still, the gifts themselves were modest. Since there were so many of us, we drew names. Each person received one "gift," and then as many stocking stuffers as people had a mind to bring. We would eat dinner, Mama's wonderful cooking. Only after dinner did the real tradition of our household start. The game was tormentor versus victim. Yes, we literally tormented the children. It was a waiting game. The rule was, we couldn't open gifts until after dinner. Dinner was big and we all loved to talk, so it took some time. The children remained on pins and needles. We couldn't get them to concentrate on dinner, for the gifts under the tree called to them like sirens. "Stop talking and start eating!" they would scold. "Aren't you through yet?"

"Oh, no, not at all," we would say. "I believe I'll go back for seconds. I think I could eat another piece of that pie." (The kids would roll their eyes.) It was our payback for the way they pestered when we were trying to eat and converse. The tradition was long held, and I could remember my parents doing the same thing to me.

"You don't want seconds! You're just saying that," they admonished. They were old hands at this. They, too, played the game. Finally, we were stuffed. We really could not hold one more piece of pie. Conversation came to a lull. Then, and only then, did we move into the living room where the opening of presents would begin.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2008-12-20T18:11:00.003-05:00

We in the South have been dreaming of a white Christmas since the song hit the air. We'll be waiting till the cows come home I guess. White Christmases in the South are few and far between. Maybe some places here have them. On top of Monteagle Mountain, maybe (Tennessee), or Old Grassy, here in Georgia. Even they are more prone to get their snows in March or April. Here, we have rain. It's raining buckets right now. And maybe it will actually turn cold. "We might be gonna get us a cold spell," Daddy would say. I never had a sled. I once asked Mama why I never got a sled for Christmas, and she just looked at me and laughed. I might as well've been from another planet, the way that woman looked at me.

And yet, we did once get a snow. I don't mean a snow, snow. We get those sometimes, the stray flurry. Or once in a blue moon, the actual snow that "lays." (A laying snow, around here, is one that makes maybe a half inch; or, every in awhile, that luxurious, deep, lovely layer of a foot of snow. I've seen about three of those in my lifetime. But no, I mean once we got a SNOW. A blizzard. The Blizzard of '93 crippled the South. Remind me to tell you sometime about my experience of the Blizzard of '93. I lived to tell about it. Some didn't. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I remain in awe at the thought of it. But it was in March. Not December. I'm still dreaming of a white Christmas.

Need more humor about snow in the South?
An Inch of Snow and Southern Schools is my essay on our reaction to snow:
http://www.southernmuse.com/southern/snowclass.html

Christmas without Santa Claus

2008-12-19T21:29:00.003-05:00

Poverty pervades the stories of North Georgia and of the American South. Poverty has shaped the life of Southern Muse, though in no way has my life been poor. The feeling of poverty came instead in stories that were told to us. It came to us as a fear from our parents. A fear that the Great Depression would return. The Depression, more than anything else, shaped the lives of the people of Franklin D. Roosevelt's generation. Those who were touched by The Great Depression in childhood never escaped it, quite. They passed those fears on to their children, and even their grandchildren, the child of the cellphone and big-screen TV, as hard as that might be to fathom. Here's a story that my aunt once told me.

She had been taken in. Her own parents were in dire straits, partly of their own making. Their parents took in my aunt and her two brothers. They stayed in a little lean-to in the small house, along with their cousin, Bill, who had also been taken in. That Christmas, their father came to them and told them there would be no Santa Claus that Christmas. Times were just too hard. They noticed, though, that Bill's daddy didn't tell him that. So they wondered about it. Santa Claus might, they thought ~ he might just come anyway. Christmas Eve, they waited and wondered. Would Santa Claus come? They finally fell asleep.

Christmas morning, they awoke and looked around eagerly. Sure enough, Bill's side of the lean-to had a little red wagon. It was a Radio Flyer, no doubt. Sadly, their side of the lean-to had nothing. Not a sugarplum. Not an orange. Not a shiny new penny. Nothing.

Alabama Zizzer Buttons

2008-12-16T12:52:00.004-05:00

When I was a kid and we got a little bored, Mama would make us a zizzer button. She would take a long piece of thick thread, put it through the holes of a button, and tie the ends of the thread. We were young and naive enough to be thrilled by this. We would twist the ends of the thread around and round and round. Then we pulled at both ends. The button would zing around and give a high-pitched zzz-z-z sound ~ hence the name. Most of the world would call that a button-on-a-string, but being Southern, Alabama natives prefer the more poetic term.

Zizzer buttons weren't Christmas toys ~ no more than a June bug on a string, which wouldn't be around Christmas, and anyhow would have PETA up in arms. Today's kid would look askance at the humble zizzer button. But cell phones, CDs, and Star Trek were unheard of back then. Guitar Hero was unplugged. Times were simple, but from the sound of all that Depression talk, we might want to reexamine the lowly ZB!

The Little Christmas Tree

2008-12-14T22:23:00.006-05:00

We have a tiny Christmas tree. No, it's not a Charlie Brown Christmas tree by any means. It's a cheesy little artificial fiber-optics tree. But it suits us just fine. It has its own special quality.

When we were young, Daddy would go up into the mountains and chop down a real pine or spruce. He would come dragging it back to the house and find it too tall. Even after lopping off a good three feet it was a tight squeeze. Once inside, it was magnificent. We would string popcorn ~ a slow go until we discovered the cat was eating the corn we strung. There were blown-glass shapes, balls covered with satin thread, and silly little kid-cut-out ornaments. And the lights! Big ones of blue, red, yellow and green. The trouble Daddy had stringing the Christmas lights! And if one bulb was out, the whole string went dead. We had to try every light to find the dud.

We went to artificial trees a long time ago. Even then, we stuck to a big tree, but finally traded down to the little tree. By then, Daddy had long since lost his strength. He stayed in bed most of the time. One night, we found him looking at the little fiber-optics tree like a little child, full of wonder. Every so often, he would come back to marvel at it again. Think of all those years, of untangling wires and checking each bulb! There really is a little magic in our little tree...

Christmas Lights and Shepherds

2008-12-14T05:10:00.007-05:00

We used to have a small community near our small town that covered the landscape in Christmas lights. Floodtown wasn't a town, by charter ~ just a community. People came from miles around to drive through the curvy little back roads of Floodtown and see the lights. Truly, it was a wonderland! Oh, there was no rhyme or reason to the design. This was not the result of a city-council committee or town planning. No, the local residents just took it upon themselves, each, to outshine the other. Floodtown Road started as an unlit back road that curved into nowhere. But suddenly, you came over the top of a hill and ~ there is no way to describe it. There was a sea of lights, a magical place, a wonderland. Strands of lights draped from tall lampposts. Lights covered each house and trailer. Statues stood in the yards and statuesque forms were built of lights. Homemade cup-lights adorned trees. Light-filled candy canes hung from eaves. For the next half mile, the landscape was awash with Christmas lights.

For thirty years, this was the tradition in my town. Everyone drove through Floodtown. It was the thing to do. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, the travellers would come. The little road went from being the road less travelled to having a steady stream that lasted from November till January. It amused and amazed me, driving down Old CCC Camp Road and seeing the long line of cars, but even us locals couldn't resist cutting through Floodtown most nights. If you had children in the car, it was a must. If you were not a child, it made you feel like one again.

The traffic got noticed. I suppose, at first, it was seen as a curse. Perhaps it was discussed in nearby Eton. Residents could have protested, I suppose, but instead they must have figured: "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" City residents began to put up lights.

A few years ago, something began to change in Floodtown. There weren't as many lights. It didn't seem quite as magical. We discussed the probable cause: electric bills, family illnesses. The electric bills had been rumored for years, but in various ways, people had overcome the expense. Once a local radio station even footed the bill. It was seen to be a community thing. But year before last, there was a drastic change. The little kingpin house, the one just below the first hill, had no lights. They were not just turned off, they were gone. I sensed that perhaps the people had died. There were new people in the house. There were no lights. Although a couple of surrounding trailers made a valiant effort, the effect just wasn't the same. It appeared that the Floodtown tradition was over.

Nearby Eton, by then, had become accustomed to being the Christmas town. Out-of-towners stopped constantly, asking, "Where is Floodtown? Where are the lights?" (Floodtown itself is on no map. You just have to know how to get there). So, Eton began to present an annual light show. It is nice. It is fun. But it is not Floodtown. It is not magical, not a wonderland. Perhaps over time, it will be. But there is something very mathematical about the organization of it all. Floodtown just... happened. But what Eton did is nice for the kids, and certainly helps dispel the letdown of those who travelled from a distance to see Floodtown.

On the opposite scale of things, though, there is quiet simplicity. Topping a hill on a private drive at Cohutta Springs, recently, I was greeting by the pleasant shapes of shepherds, kneeling beside mangers. The Christmas decorations were cut out of plain wood and painted white. There was a Bible and a star, also cut out of wood. Everything was very still and quiet, and there was something magical in that simplicity... a reminder, perhaps, of the true meaning of Christmas.

Facebook Flair

2008-12-03T12:22:00.003-05:00

I've found a new thing to be hooked on: Flair! I loved Flair as soon as I saw it, but when I found out you could make your own Flair... Wow! Giving me a new art tool is like putting a kid in a candy store! For those of you who don't use Facebook, or who haven't yet added the Flair application to it... Flair lets you browse through images of buttons (buttons like the ones they give out at political rallies and chili cook-offs and concerts. The ones you can pin onto a blue-jean jacket. There's some pretty cool Flair out there! (There's some pretty stupid Flair, too). Anyone can make it. When I found out you could make your own Flair, I was like a junkie with a new drug. Gimme, gimme, gimme!!! I found myself searching through my photo files, obsessively searching for anything that looked like Flair. I had quite a few nice 'Flairy' bits. I had already designed a bunch of postcards for Southern Muse (my main website). I have added some Southern Flair to the mix. I had some very cool old newspaper images from 1939, where someone had collected clippings of the Atlanta premiere of Gone With the Wind. It was a special section of photogravures. There were nice, old sepia-toned photos of Clark Gable and Scarlett O'Hara. There was one of Margaret Mitchell at a press conference, in front of the WAGA and WSM microphones. There was a great little photo of Butterfly McQueen (Prissy). There was also a section called "World Events of 1939," now a nice bit of history. The World War II pictures didn't shrink well, though. (Flair is pretty small ~ and seems even smaller when you start trying to squeeze those images in there.) I also have my paintings, and I enjoy seeing them as Flair. I just pick out certain details or focal points. I would say this is the beginning of a fantastic career, except... well, Flair is free. You get Flair points ~ good for sending; but it doesn't do you much good if you make a lot of Flair. You don't want to overburden your friends. I'll be over my new toy in a week or so. But in the meantime, there'll be lots of good Flair out there from Southern Muse!

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-03T11:18:00.006-05:00

Christmas is approaching, and I'm enjoying the Christmas carols on the radio. I am dreaming of a white Christmas, though it's highly unlikely we'll have one. We have rainy days for Christmas. This is the South. We do dream of a white Christmas each year, but it's more likely to be gray and rainy, or unseasonably warm. Once in a blue moon we have snow. There might be a dusting of snow on top of Fort Mountain or old Grassy. Those cobalt blue hills look lovely tipped in white. Our holiday is stress free, so far. That's because we no longer do the big gift exchange. We don't join the shopping-mall fray or worry about over-spending on credit cards. We had just been drawing names for many years, and doing optional stocking stuffers. Even that got to be a little much, when small gifts just became too expensive ~ or too generic. So, our family scaled back on the old spending several years ago. Most of the kids (and the kids' kids) are grown, and they don't need to be trying to keep up with the Joneses on who gave the most expensive gift. We swap simple ornaments now (Chinese auction style). We sing Christmas carols, some gospel, and even some classic rock and country songs. We also play a few silly word games ~ Christmas themed, of course: acronyms and puzzles. (I always get the most obscure or classical Christmas carols, and miss the easy ones, so they laugh at me!) And we have our big Christmas dinner: turkey or ham, cranberry salad, and my personal favorite, the 'green stuff.' (It's gelatin salad. My sister-in-law brings it and we all love it). We swap stories, and we just have a nice time hanging out with family. So I'm looking forward to the big get-together.

Old Weathered Cabins

2008-11-19T00:22:00.008-05:00

I don't know what it was about the old gray, weathered cabins of the Appalachian mountains. Maybe it was that, in the early 1970s, they were already an image out of their own time and place. Maybe we subconsciously saw that in them. Or maybe it was just the visual drama of them, so stark and skeletal, among the red clay hills; velvet-black on rainy days. The red of the roof matched the clay, but it was the red of rust, not of paint. I don't want to think it was simple nostalgia. There was nostalgia, but it was a lonesomeness for a kind of life that was fading before our eyes. Every old, black cottage that we passed on the rural roads reminded us of our own kin. They stilled lived in those cabins. We would go to visit, only a few times a year; and to us kids, it was the novelty of the thing. It was a strange, new thing, to pump water by hand, to pull the rope in the old cistern and haul up dripping buckets of water; to sit and listen to our great-grandfather and uncles play the fiddle and the banjo; to eat the chicken-and-dumplings and chocolate gravy and biscuits and other rare treats of our great aunts and grandmother's cooking. We marvelled that the outhouse, a strange, mysterious and somewhat spooky place to us, was an everyday, matter-of-fact utility of theirs. What we didn't know was that we were seeing the last of Appalachia. We didn't see them going, but they went. They went the way of the American Chestnut, that Appalachian giant that I never saw, but only heard about from my elders. First went the old covered bridges; then, the rickety paved ones, that provided so much dangerous glee when we were teens in our first cars, and knew no better than to get up a good speed in anticipation of a breathtaking, roller coaster leap that would separate chassis from suspension, if only for a moment. Then the cabins, as they gave way to cozy, trim little cedar-sided and brick houses. The old barns, that used to be everywhere, and of such different designs, quietly disappeared from the landscape. We didn't notice as they disappeared, but we noticed when nearly all of them were gone. And finally, the people. Stern old women in faded sunbonnets and shapeless dresses... wiry, leathery old men in overalls, chewing tobacco and talking of sourwood honey. They, too, existed in such stark contrast to the bustling, chrome-plated and freshly painted world that sprang up around them. It was the dawn of the age of personal computers and cellular phones, but even we didn't see that (that was still a Star Trek fantasy). Those sturdy, coarse-yet-dignified personalities ~ seemingly as strong and ancient and enduring as the mountains themselves ~ simply disappeared as quietly as the old barns and cabins.

The oil painting of the old cabin (above) was perhaps my first landscape. I was only 15 or 16, and it was painted from memory, not direct observation. The details of the overalls on the clothesline, the broom, and the old outhouse, were sentimental, to be sure; the mountains lack form; but the depth and strength of the red clay and cobalt blue hills seem true to me even now.

Sunday Cat

2008-11-15T22:56:00.008-05:00

One Sunday when we were having our Sunday dinner, a sleek little tabby cat wandered up to our house. She came to beg a crust, which our nieces gave her, no doubt. "Not another stray," we groaned. "Now she's ours for life." But on Monday, she was gone. As weeks went on, we noticed with amusement, she appeared like clockwork on Sundays ~ even when we had no family to dinner. We speculated, thinking that maybe someone locked her out of their house every church day. So to us, "Sunday Cat" she became. We never thought of her as ours. She came for a visit. Once she appeared on a Monday! We checked our calendar and laughed, puzzled. One Sunday, she brought her mate. He stayed (and stayed). "Freeloader." We know his variety. But not Sunday Cat. Come Monday, she was gone.

Then Sunday Cat disappeared. "What has become of our little Sunday Cat?" we wondered. Sunday Cat had gone, we decided. She was not ours to mourn. Her people must have moved. Then one day, our mystery was solved. We opened the door to find Sunday. And, tagging along behind ~ Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday... Two short of a week, it seems, and all skittish and wild. But they stayed. We feed them. Sunday Cat retains a measure of independence. She keeps her kittens on task. They must catch a cricket or a newt, and she will bring them a mouse. We give them cat food, but they seem ravenous. They are never full. But they are not predictable. Sometimes the whole kit and caboodle disappears for a day or a week.

The kitten sitting prettily in the fall leaves (above) is one of the newcomers. She (he?) is the prettiest, but the wildest. The closest we came to catching her was to grab her once by the tail. That didn't set too well with her wild nature, and we have yet to catch her again.

Thunderstorm!

2008-11-15T02:28:00.009-05:00

"The bottom just dropped out!" That's the way Mama would say it, when it came a big thunderstorm. "It rained like all get-out!" I don't know where she got that saying. Appalachian people never say a thing plain when they can embellish the words. The rain on our tin roof sounds like a loud roar, but wonderful in this time of drought. This kind of thunderstorm usually comes in the summertime. It rages and roars and the lightning flashes, wild. There's no fear ~ it's not a tornado. (We get tornadoes in spring.) I don't dread a storm. I love it!

Thunderstorms make me think of Huckleberry Finn, and the wonderful way that Twain describes the thunderstorms on Jackson's Island, when "it rained like all fury," and it "would get so dark that it looked all blue-black outside, and lovely; and the rain would thrash along by so thick that the trees off a little ways looked dim and spider-webby." (Chapter IX)

We get the most wonderful thunderstorms in North Georgia, and flash floods that cause the mountain ravines to resound with crashing water. Our storm came quickly, dumped buckets of water on us, and faded quietly, as quickly as it came. Now there's just the soothing sound of raindrops and the glad knowledge that Muskrat Creek, all summer-dry and stagnant, will once again echo through these cobalt blue hills.

Those Beautiful Blue Hills...

2008-11-14T22:15:00.004-05:00

Oh, those beautiful blue hills! The mountains are so lovely at this time of the year. Cobalt blue, framed by the deep red and yellow leaves of the hardwoods. Driving to work is a pleasure. The road curves and I take my time. I get to go the back roads the whole way. White and gray tree trunks cut upright windows in the woods, and bits of lake show through them. The lake itself is still, like glass, and reflects the most wonderful blues, grays and browns. On these cool mornings, a mist rises off of the lake. A thirty-year journey into this brilliant landscape, and yet each glimpse, each new perspective, is its own. This day is its own gift.

Front-Porch Society

2008-11-14T21:52:00.009-05:00

Lazy-day Sundays... we used to spend them loafing in the front-porch swing. Old and young, we enjoyed swinging or swaying in an old-fashioned glider. The old people sat in big rocking chairs. We talked. The old people chewed the fat and the youngsters listened, taking it all in, to become part of the collective psyche that made up the South. Or maybe the youngun's put in their two-cents worth, and were generally smiled upon and respected and loved. If they got too chattery, they'd be told to "go out back and play." Southern culture flourished in a front-porch society. They say that television and air conditioning brought the front-porch society to an end, and that is probably so. But computers and video games surely deserve a morsel of blame, don't they? And my nieces all have cell phones permanently attached to their ears. Well, every so often, we still stroll out to the porch swing. Sometimes it's for a too-brief spell of quiet contemplation, broken by the noisy "chatter" of our own left brains. Or maybe we sit in the swing for a minute or two to entertain an energetic toddler.

Yellow Jackets

2008-11-14T19:15:00.005-05:00

The other day I stuck my hand into a nest of yellow jackets. Not a smart thing to do, but I didn't know it was there. It was a cold day. I had decided to move an old Christmas tree that was in a box on the back porch. The artificial tree had been sitting there for a month or two, ever since I'd had a wild hare and cleaned up our storage room. Anything sitting outside in North Georgia is likely to house a critter or two. I knew that ~ so I was prepared for beetles or squirrels, or maybe even a little green snake or two. I pulled out the tree top and shook it. It was fine. Then I pulled out a couple of branches. That's when I saw the papery mess in the corner of the box. "Eee-ew-www, termites!" I thought. I reached deep down into the box for the next branch. Underneath there, it looked even worse than I'd thought. And something was moving around. I slapped the branch on the box to get rid of the bits of clinging paper. Now I noticed a bit of movement on the porch, something wiggling. "Kind of big for termites..." I bent to get a closer look. Yellow jackets! Simultaneously, I noticed one yellow jacket curled around the tip of my ring finger! Wow! I dropped that branch and hit the steps flying. The yellow jackets lay sluggish, but wriggling on the porch. They had been stunned by the cold, but startled by the intrusion into their cozy haven. Somehow, I had escaped with only one sting, and I didn't even feel that until later. I ran around the house and bounced into the front door. "Yellow jackets," I said, and told about my close call. We sneaked up the back stairs and looked out the window. Fully awake now, the wasps swarmed angrily around the back porch, seeking the predator that destroyed their nest ~ me! But I was safely inside. Only two days before, we had been on the tail end of a summer like warm spell. Had I moved the box that day... well, I shudder to think of it!

Oakwood Plantation Christmas Open House 2008

2008-10-19T22:41:00.002-04:00

Crandall, Georgia: Oakwood Plantation (also locally known as "the Colvard house") will be featured in this year's Christmas open house, sponsored by Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. The antebellum farmhouse, built between 1847 and 1852, retains many of its original features, including heart-pine floors, staircase, brick summerhouse, and a secret hiding place. Though built by an early, wealthy landowner of Murray County, Georgia, it reflects the plain, country lifestyle of functionality and Southern grace that marked the Appalachian mountain area. The two-story house was one of the larger houses in the young county, yet the style is simple and unadorned. The private residence will be open for tours on December 5th, 2008, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, December 6th, 2008 from 2 to 5 p.m. Additional free parking is available at the old store across the road. The owners will host the tour, assisted by officers and volunteers of Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. Tickets are $10 and will go on sale in November. Call the historical society at 706-278-0217 for more information.

Historical background of the house (from Murray County Heritage (copyright 1987, Whitfield-Murray Historical Society) (pp. 328-331): Built for Euclid Waterhouse, an early wealthy Tennessean, who earned his fortune in the copper-mining industry of Copper Hill, Tennessee, served as a banker, and then moved into Murray County, Georgia. Later purchased by "Major M.D.L. McCroskey, a Civil War veteran, farmer, and retired merchant." (330) Passed down to Julia McCroskey, who married Dr. T.W. Colvard (an early Murray County physician, who practiced medicine for about 50 years, and also once served as a superintendent of schools. Mrs. L.M. McCroskey and Julia Colvard deeded an acre of land for a "Union Tabernacle" church. Colvard's store sits on the property, as well, and has served as a Murray County landmark for many years (though the old store building was moved a few dozen feet and relocated across the road some years ago). There is a freshwater spring on the property, but it is no longer in use. The property sits at the intersection of Georgia Highway 2 and 225 in Crandall, Georgia. The address is 13260 Highway 225 N, Crandall, Georgia. It is not far from Calvary Baptist Church and cemetery.

John Herschel White, Home from Korea

2008-07-04T00:46:00.002-04:00

Nearly 58 years ago, John Herschel White, a young man of 17, went missing in action in Korea. This afternoon, as I left for work, Mother saw an announcement that there would be a story on the news about a soldier, missing in action for 58 years, who was "coming home" to Sand Mountain. When I got back home, she said, "Do you know who that soldier was? Herschel White!" Mother remembered when Herschel went missing, all those years ago. "He was Carl's cousin," she said. (Carl Wallers was my uncle). She had gone to school with the Whites, and actually was doubly related to Herschel, without knowing it (being descended from the Cooper family and the Wigley family). She saw Herschel's sisters, Nina Ruth and Faye on the news, and remembered them from school. "And Faye married a Cooper," she said. "I don't know which one."
"Probably one of ours," I said.
Sgt. John Herschel White, missing in action in Korea all those years, will be buried in Bryant, Alabama, on July 15, 2008.

Johnny and Jack: Poison Love

2008-05-22T01:02:00.003-04:00

If Cherokee Shuffle made me lonesome for the old days, this old Johnny and Jack tune makes me sad down to my bones. Can't tell you how many of those old Appalachian voices are gone out of my life.

VIDEO/SLIDE SHOW (OLD MUSIC):

Anyhow, this wasn't what I was lookin' for when I did the search. I was tryin' to find Slow Poison, another old tune by Johnny and Jack. It makes me laugh. How about this for a love song (of sorts):

Carbolic acid, and even ar-sen-ic,

Nuthin' in the drugstore ~ could kill me half as quick

As your slow poison! (...)

Now that'll bring tears to your eyes... (Tears of laughter!)

World of Coca-Cola

2008-05-22T00:29:00.001-04:00

This was my first visit to World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. It was a lot of fun. We got to see all these wonderful antique Coca-Cola signs and old Coke machines. It brought back memories of those ice-cold Cokes that we used to buy at the old general store. (For years, we always bought the bottles, even after cans became available.) Those old metal coolers kept the Cokes so cold, there were little flecks of ice floating in the drink! Granddaddy used to bring an old battered, metal Coca-Cola cooler to the family get-togethers. It was always filled with Coca Colas ~ the little 8-ounce bottles. It seemed to hold a hundred of them, but that's just my imagination, I guess.

We loved the "4D" animated show so much that we watched it twice! (The 4th dimension is wind, water, and movement. You really feel the show! We got to watch Coca-Cola being bottled. After that, we got to taste so many different flavors of international Coca-Cola drinks that we almost had to be carted out in wheelbarrows!

Cherokee Shuffle

2008-05-22T00:20:00.000-04:00

The Cherokee Shuffle has a wonderful, folk music sound, especially when these two play it. The sound of the fiddle makes me lonesome for the old days!

Pachelbel Bedtime - SWC Films

2008-05-21T22:52:00.001-04:00

Wow, I don't see how he does it!

Booth Western Art Museum

2008-04-18T11:16:00.002-04:00

Cartersville, Georgia: Our day trip got sidetracked, but we enjoyed the day after all. Our first stop, a museum, was closed. We decided to try the Booth Western Art Museum, and it was a very nice visit. The Booth has a large collection of original oil paintings of Civil War scenes. They are professionally executed and highly illustrative. Plaques give a brief history of each battle. Civil War buffs should enjoy this exhibit. One gallery features posters for western movies. For some, the original gouache cover illustrations hung alongside the paperback books that featured the art. One room has a stagecoach. Another gallery features the presidential collection: Reproductions of American presidents hang over original letters and brief biographies of each featured president: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and many others; and modern presidents (Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Bush). Some letters are of more importance than others, but it is a large, nice collection ~ sure to please the history buff.

Weinman Mineral Museum

2008-04-18T11:10:00.002-04:00

Still laughing at ourselves: we took a day trip to Kingston (near Cartersville, Georgia), to visit the Weinman Mineral Museum ~ only to find out it was closed, and had been since July of last year! The building is under construction. It will reopen about October 2008 as a larger science museum: Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science Museum. The old Weinman Mineral Museum was nice, though small. Tellus promises to be even nicer ~ lets hope it lives up to its promise. Also, I hope they keep the minerals on display!

Southern...

2008-03-16T21:33:00.000-04:00

Southern is southern. These days, you could almost forget what the stereotype was all about. Boiled peanuts are hard to come by, and you're more likely to hear Dr. Dre than Dixie booming from the pick-up behind you. But what I saw today you'd only see in the South. Parked at the local 7-11 was a stretch limo ~ complete with a Confederate flag and a bumper sticker that said "Redneck." The guy climbing into it was a scuzzy-lookin' biker type sporting a greasy Dixie doo-rag. He looked more like the Harley type to me, and the limo surely had seen better days. But all the fenders matched and there wasn't a spot of primer to be seen. Not quite Dukes of Hazzard, but it did have one saving grace: a big, empty gas can sitting atop the trunk...

Porch Swing

2008-03-16T21:16:00.002-04:00

I got to sit out in the porch swing today. It was nice, just enjoying the light summer breeze, and looking down into the pasture at the horses. The cat came and joined me. He's an old stray who has taken up residence here, with no invitation. It was nice not having to think of work or punch a keyboard or anything. Seems forever since life was made up of days like that... just sitting down by Muskrat Creek, or walking through a field, or lying outside at night, looking up at the stars...
Once upon a time, life was like that. Sure wish I could go back...

Google Image Labeller

2008-03-14T01:10:00.002-04:00

I am addicted to Google Image Labeler. The game has changed my thought patterns. Now as I drive by a building, I think, "Building! Brick! Brick house! Pink!" I practically salivate with excitement before I realize: no points... It's Pavlov's dog all over again. In that respect, Google's image labeling experiment is like any other game. Back in the day, I remember stacking Dr. Mario's colored capsules in my sleep--or at least as I was dropping off to sleep (just like counting sheep). I moved my toes to the music. Tetris had a similar effect.

If you have never heard of the Google Image Labeler, it's a game that helps Google identify images to improve image search results. Players are paired anonymously and have about two minutes to toss descriptive words at each other in an attempt to get an exact match and earn points. It's fun for gamesters, word buffs, and brainiacs. It helps to be a fast typist and a good speller, but be forewarned: it is addictive. Also, on occasion, the images are unsavory and even explicit. Whether this is normal random display or a case of hacking is anybody's guess.

Time Keeps on Slipping...

2007-12-05T22:32:00.001-05:00

We were sitting around the other day when my brother happened to spy the clock in the living room. It was off by quite a bit. "I guess you forgot to set some of the clocks," he said. That clock probably hadn't seen new batteries in two years. He looked at the other clock and it was off, too. We laughed. "I guess time doesn't mean too much in this household," he said.

The second clock is always off. My niece uses it to get up in the morning on weekends that she stays with us. She has inherited my morning sluggishness, and keeps that clock set about 30 minutes ahead. We don't bother to change it during the week. The kitchen clock is somewhat dependable. It is right most times ~ if the batteries aren't weak. We go by that one. My car clock is usually off. Not only do I keep it set 30 minutes or more ahead (a throwback to work days), but annually, at time change, I fail to reset it in a timely manner. Sometimes I go a week or a month or more. It's just a pain to remember which buttons to punch. The VCR clock now ~ forget about that one. It hasn't been set since the VCR was new and we could still find the owner's manual.

My bedroom clock is always off. Like my niece, I keep it ahead, but it can't be at a normal pre-set. If it was an exact amount, and always the same, I would remember it. I must fool myself. I set it, maybe 47 minutes, or an hour and ten ahead... I'm just groggy enough in the A.M. to fall for that. I do have one of those automatic, self-setting clocks to fall back on ~ but I'd swear it loses a half hour between upstairs and downstairs. I'm always running behind. Maybe the clock just loses signal. Maybe our little valley exists in some kind of twilight zone. Maybe the clock has adjusted itself specifically to our crazy household. Clocks or no clocks, one thing is sure: time can't stand still. "Time keeps on slipping... into the future."

Smelly Cat Song

2007-12-05T22:12:00.002-05:00

It is perhaps a sign of the times that my family spent part of Sunday arguing over the words to the "Smelly Cat Song." The big Sunday dinner has been a tradition in our family since I was a kid, and probably long before that. We used to get together at my grandmother's house, with all the cousins. Not every Sunday, but many ~ and nearly every holiday. Later, Mother started cooking for our own family, and the tradition continued. Usually, some or all of my brothers and sisters come over and bring their families. It was my niece who started the "Smelly Cat" conversation. She is a great fan of "Friends" ~ she has it on DVD. Being the expert, she was right about the lyrics. But it amuses me that her mother knew enough about the song to argue the point. Pop culture pervades every aspect of American life, and our house is no exception. The important thing is, we still get together on Sundays. We have our meal ~ sometimes home cooked, and other times take-out (Pizza King loves us). We sit around and half-watch "Columbo," and chat, and catch up on things. We might watch "Coal Miner's Daughter" or "Forrest Gump" or "The Quiet Man." If this once the conversation turned to "The Smelly Cat," it just adds to the multi-generational dimension of Sunday dinner.

Perdue's Rain

2007-11-15T12:07:00.005-05:00

We got our rain! Yesterday was so dry, our grandfather cactus picked up a suitcase and headed for Arizona, looking for water. He was plumb parched. Said he hadn't seen a drought like that since he shaved his first peach fuzz. Tuesday, Governor Sonny Perdue prayed for rain, and last night we got a deluge that filled our hearts and our rain barrel. Now, I haven't seen an ark floating down Muskrat Creek, but at least the crawdads aren't begging for sarsaparilla. Can't say for sure that Perdue's prayer brought us rain, but we're willing to thank Sonny Perdue along with the Almighty. Lots of Georgians have said prayers about rain lately. Rainy days are welcome in our neck of the woods.

Mason Jars in the Flood

2007-10-22T01:05:00.001-04:00

I just got hold of a new book of short stories: Mason Jars in the Flood and Other Stories (by Gary Carden). I've read quite a few of the stories in just the few days I've had the book. It's an easy read. The stories are very homey ~ just what you'd like ~ no pretense. They bill the author as a Southern Garrison Keillor, and that's an apt description. The stories are nostalgic without being overly sentimental, and you really get the flavor of Southern speech. By that, I don't mean dialect ~ you don't stumble over the words. There are times when he uses a homonym in place of the actual term, and that might throw off someone from out of town... he uses it in a casual way, to simulate the dialect ~ not in error (or so I presume).

The names alone gave me an old-home feeling: Sizemore, Ridley, Hoyt... and the nicknames are a treat. If you grew up among gossiping old grannys who have a strange, dark outlook on life and dignified, wiry old men in overalls, or fellows named "Bubba" and "Boone," this book will take you right back home...

Clipmarks

2007-10-22T00:56:00.002-04:00

The newest fun site for me is Clip Marks (clipmarks.com). I discovered it through Google, and it's great. You can clip and save (or e-mail) pieces of a web page. Okay, this may not be news, but it was new for me! I had never heard of it until the Firefox update came through--it's one of their add-ons.

Marcelle is back at Crown Gardens and Archives

2007-10-17T00:28:00.000-04:00

Marcelle is back at Crown Gardens and Archives! I had been filling in for her since the end of April. She is at work on the next quarterly and newsletter. They should be out soon.

Crown Gardens and Archives (Dalton, Georgia) is the headquarters for Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. There really isn't much of a garden, unfortunately. There's a small library for genealogy, and some of the local clubs meet at the archives on a regular basis.

Art Shows have been disappointing...

2007-10-17T00:11:00.001-04:00

Art shows in Dalton, Georgia, were disappointing this year. The Creative Arts Guild Festival 2007 had quite a few jewelers (handmade artisan jewelry). There were few painters and only a couple of sculptors and potters.

The decline might be natural, since jewelry probably sells better than the other arts and crafts in North Georgia. I doubt if many people have the budget or taste for fine arts.

The Patrons Purchase and Exhibition (indoor component of the Creative Arts Guild Festival) was a great disappointment. It's usually a very good show, packed with excellent pieces, of reasonably good quality for a small city. This year, it was dull. It reminded me of an amateur show. There were only a handful of paintings worth looking at, and those took the awards. (Usually, there are many good pieces, and only a few awards ~ so it would be a hard show to judge! Not this year, though.)

Praters Mill ~ Varnell, GA

2007-10-16T23:43:00.001-04:00

Prater's Mill was this past weekend, and the weather was beautiful. We did the booth for Whitfield-Murray Historical Society ~ sold some history books and raffled off a painting. We set up in the mill. The Busy Bee Quilters raffled a quilt. The Busy Bee Raffle is a Prater's Mill tradition ~ they've raffled a quilt every year since the 1970's! They also work on quilts during the festival. This year, it was a pretty, embroidered quilt, with a design of kittens.

There were some nice crafts at Prater's Mill: wonderful hand-wrought silver-and-gemstone jewelry and some lovely handmade pocketbooks. I think the blacksmith was there ~ I had to tour quickly and get back to our booth. I didn't see as many traditional appalachian booths. They used to have people with big iron pots of boiled corn and kettle corn (popcorn). They did have some great food vendors, though, including pit-cooked Southern barbecue, funnel cakes, and Cajun jambalaya.

The fine arts didn't make much of a showing. There weren't many painters. The ones I saw were photo-realists, with Southern scenes as their subjects. One had some nice paintings of Chattanooga's Walnut Street pedestrian bridge (over the Tennessee River).

Even though we set up in the mill, I didn't get a chance to take the tour. I always enjoy it ~ I love to watch the flour and meal being ground, and look out over the millpond. I hope to go again next year, and take my time looking over the booths!

Tuesday, The Day I Was Ambushed by Civil War Soldiers...

2007-07-26T21:48:00.002-04:00

Dalton, Georgia. Tuesday morning, I unlocked the door of the archives and was startled out of my wits by an ugly, hairy, bearded guy who had taken up residence on our elegant French Provincial sofa. His friend was a cold, angry-looking blond. Although my life didn't flash before my eyes, many thoughts flashed through my brain in quick succession. My initial fear was that I was late for work and people were waiting. Before I even had time to think, "No, wait ~ I'm early," it occurred to me that the door had been locked, the alarm set. "How did they get past the dead-bolt?" I wondered frantically ~ as an even weirder thought struck me: "These guys look dead." As Huck Finn said, "It most give me the fantods."

I recovered my wits to realize that Marvin had brought over two very real-looking dummies for the upcoming Civil War display. The Civil War soldiers ~ two mannikins ~ were dressed in woolen coats and hats, 1860's fashion, which should have tipped me off at once, but I was not prepared for the sight of them, sprawled out as they were, in the parlor just inside the front door.

Since that initial reaction of mine, they've given me a turn more than once as I've walked by or glanced through the window, forgetting their presence. They look quite at odds with our frilly lace curtains. They've given some visitors to the archives a turn as well. I'll be glad when we get them into the lobby and have them displayed properly ~ though I suspect that even then, I'll be scared many more times as I stroll into the room, distracted by morning routine...

(Crown Gardens and Archives is the headquarters for Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.)

Dalton's Church of Latter-Day Saints Service Project at Archives

2007-07-26T21:32:00.001-04:00

Dalton, Georgia. Last Saturday, Dalton's Church of Latter-Day Saints performed a service project at Crown Gardens and Archives in Dalton. A large group of church members ~ men, women and children ~ arrived at 7:30 a.m., bringing lawn equipment and cleaning products. They trimmed the hedges and holly bushes, cut down weeds, vines and small trees that had overgrown the creek and cleaned out the gutters (some of which even had small trees growing in them). Their work made a dramatic difference. The entrance is now easily visible. Some visitors have commented that they didn't even know the archives was there until the bushes were cleared away. They also cleaned inside the museum, vacuuming, dusting, polishingj, and organizing the storage room. Crown Gardens and Archives is the headquarters for Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.

Battle of Athens, Tennessee

2007-07-17T00:53:00.004-04:00

Chatsworth, Georgia: Whitfield-Murray Historical Society will meet on Sunday, July 22 at 2:30 pm at the Old Wright Hotel. The program will be on the Battle of Athens, Tennessee (1946). The public is invited. Admission is free. Seating is limited.

This meeting was earlier set to be at the old Spring Place Methodist Church, but was changed to the Wright Hotel.

Dalton, Ga: Wedding at the Archives

2007-07-17T00:20:00.002-04:00

Saturday was a first for me... we had a wedding at the Crown Gardens and Archives. Actually, the wedding was on the grounds, part of the Crown Loft apartments next door. They only rented our room for the reception. Our meeting room is very pretty, and the front parlor can be used for some individual pictures. It has an old-fashioned charm--though we could use some new carpet. Everyone loved the look of the place, said we have character. We had a little bit of cleaning to do, beforehand--character and cobwebs go together!

(Crown Gardens and Archives is located in Dalton, Georgia. Dalton is in the North Georgia region).

Independence Day postcards in time for the Fourth of July!

2007-07-04T07:29:00.000-04:00

Better late than never! I finally managed to get some Independence Day postcards up for the Fourth of July. (e-Postcards)
Hey, I didn't miss it! Squeaked in there just in time...

HaPPy InDepEndeNce DaY!!!
~ ` ~ . * . ~ ` ~ * . ~ ` ~

Spring Place Community Festival, August 18th

2007-07-02T19:53:00.001-04:00

Chatsworth, Georgia:

The 10th Annual Spring Place Community Festival is coming up, August the 18th. This is a small but nice, old-fashioned community festival, with a "country" atmosphere. It is held annually in Spring Place community, west of Chatsworth, Georgia (not too far from the Chief Vann House, south of it on Hwy. 225).

This is a small festival, but packed with great events. I don't have all the details, but last year featured an antique automobile show for the first time, and I think this year will do the same.
There's always an auction of goods donated by local businesses and community members ~ usually prints, paintings, and sets of books and coins, as well as household items. You never know what they'll have, and the auction is fun to watch.

They usually have a bake sale. (Community festivals that have bake sales are my absolute favorites ~ I always stuff myself silly on pecan pie, chocolate-chip cookies, and homemade fudge ~ can't eat dessert for the rest of the year!) Indoors is a bookstore, featuring new and used books donated by community members. Whitfield-Murray Historical Society also has
books for sale, featuring local authors on Murray County history. There's also a country store set up inside, with homemade jams, jellies, and handicrafts. They also have a great indoor flea market with antiques, collectibles and household items. I have found some wonderful treasures there in the past, at real flea-market prices.

This is one of my favorite rummage sales! There are a few arts-and-crafts booths, with local crafters. Outside are other vendors and concessions, so you won't go hungry. As always, they'll have several raffles of handmade crafts and goods donated by community members.
Volunteers are needed and welcomed. They usually need someone to help with rummage, help set up tables and booth, etcetera. The date for this year's festival is Saturday, August 18th, 2007, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Come early so you won't miss the auction
and other events!

For locations, directions and more detail on past events, go to:
http://www.southernmuse.com/southern/spf_about.html

Appalachian Wagon Train Parade, July 6th, 2007

2007-07-02T19:36:00.001-04:00

Chatsworth, Georgia: It's Wagon Train time! Every year, 'round about the 4th of July, everybody pours into town to see the wagon train. The festival started June 28th and will continue on through July 8th. There's a week's worth of events, with rodeos, barrel racing, horse shows, livestock auctions, you name it ~ If there's a horse, mule or wagon involved, it goes! One of the main events is the wagon-train parade, down the main street of Chatsworth, Georgia. That event will be on July 6th, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. They used to head on over to Ellijay by horseback, but I'm not sure if they do that anymore. Murray County Saddle Club sponsors this event. This year is the 47th annual event!

Fort Mountain, Chatsworth, Georgia.

[Photo has been retouched for color.]

Blown Glass at Georgia Southwestern

2007-06-30T03:57:00.002-04:00

Americus, Georgia: Georgia Southwestern State University was the last stop on our visit to Americus. My cousin had hoped to treat us by letting us see a glass-blowing demonstration, but had been unable to schedule it. We dropped in anyway, unexpectedly ~ and on a Sunday, no less ~ to find one of the professors just about to start on a project. He was nice and gracious, and seemed not at all discomposed to find a drop-in audience of six. He treated us to an impromptu demonstration of the art of glass blowing. It was fascinating to watch, and a much more involved process than we had realized. Television specials on the subject cut segments to shorten the program.

He explained a common misconception, that people think of the glass-blowing process as being mostly a blowing process; but there is a minimal amount of blowing into the hot glass, just enough to form a small air bubble inside of it. The air pocket will expand as the glass is heated. The vase went into the furnace, or glory hole, many times before the piece was finished. Watching it flare out as he spun it into its final shape was a beautiful thing to see! The final blown-glass piece was very nice. We saw it briefly before he put it into a kiln to cool down slowly.

Presidential Seal in Carpet

2007-06-30T03:21:00.003-04:00

Ya can't get away from carpet! Then again, why would you want to? On a trip to Plains, Georgia, the women at the welcome center showed us the Presidential Seal, made of carpet. They were proud that it had actually hung in the oval office during Jimmy Carter's administration, so that it was seen in each presidential address. They mentioned that the carpet was made by a mill in or near Dalton, Georgia (I believe it may have been Calhoun or White, but I've forgotten the plant name). They said they would really like to have a duplicate one made, but didn't know if the mill was still in business.

Most of the smaller mills are either out of business or are now owned by one of the larger mills, Shaw, Mohawk or Beaulieu.

A bit of trivia, I suppose, but interesting to those of us in the Carpet Capital of the World...

Old Rock Building Prints

2007-06-30T02:28:00.002-04:00

Chatsworth, Georgia: Old Rock Building ~

The prints of the Old Rock Building are back. They look good. They are trimmed and have no border, so my framing suggestion would be a gallery mount, leaving a white or off-white border between the print and the mat. Murray County Board of Education will sell the prints to raise funds for the renovation of the Old Rock Building, which is currently under way. The original art was an acrylic painting donated by D.K. Pritchett. You can see the art prints at Pat's Antiques in Chatsworth (posted date, current 06-30-07).

For more information on the Old Rock Building and why it is so special to Chatsworth, see the articles at southernmuse.com/rockbldg.html

FYI: The building is now called the V.C. Pickering Administrative Offices, but is affectionately known as the old rock building. As of 2004, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Murray County High School Historic District (District 04000628) 1004 Green St., Chatsworth, Georgia. After renovation, the building will be the central offices for Murray County Schools.

The Bear Came Back

2007-06-24T21:33:00.007-04:00

The bear came back! This time, I heard a noise and looked to see him standing, looking through the window of the door. I started to beat a hasty retreat in case the latch gave way, but he got down and started to walk away. I ran and dead-bolted the door, then grabbed my camera. I got in a quick shot from the kitchen (blurred by the curtain and reflected glass), but you can see the pads on the bottom of his feet. Then I ran to a bedroom and captured a snapshot of him looking into my car. My view was blocked by lots of vines, but you can just see his shape, standing tall, head stretched toward the Tracker ~ a big, black bear shape, not unlike a giant teddy bear. Finally, he walked off to the woods, where he stopped to maul a small tree, hoping for fruit. There is none (we had a late freeze, and there has been drought). I snapped one more shot, though it's so far away, he's pretty blurry. My heart was racing. It was scary to know that if the door hadn't been latched, or if he'd brushed the knob just right, he would have been inside the house...

[PHOTOS ENHANCED. UNENHANCED PHOTOS TO FOLLOW]

[ORIGINAL, CROPPED BUT UNENHANCED PHOTOS BELOW...]

North Georgia is full of surprises!

More Wild Critters...

2007-06-11T14:08:00.002-04:00

We had a treat yesterday: we took a short trip into town to grab some videos, and came back to find a couple of deer standing in the yard near the edge of the woods. One was a young buck. We stopped the car and watched them. They froze and watched us for quite awhile. Then another deer ran out of the woods. Then it stopped and looked back to see what the others were watching. It wasn't too alarmed, though ~ just wagged its tail and bounced over to the others. The other two continued to stand frozen, though, and when we finally moved, they all dashed back into the woods.

This was a double treat, because we had followed a rabbit up the driveway, after having spooked him from the woods. It had been just about to cross the driveway. We saw his little friend, too. It was still sitting in the brush, wanting to follow the other one, but afraid to dash in front of the car. It just sat there, looking jittery and comical, as if to say, "Which way do I go, which way do I go?"

It's not uncommon to see rabbits, squirrels, hawks, and other critters. There was a time when we saw wild animals nearly every day out near the driveway, and some up near the back woods. They became a little scarce when a hawk took up residence in the woods. He was roosting near the driveway, and apparently found the little rabbits to be easy pickings.

Deer are a little more rare, but lately they seem to have become quite easy about walking up into the yard at twilight. These three were a little early ~ it was still broad daylight. We enjoyed looking at them.

I'm afraid the black bears may begin to feel at home here, too. We're still a little nervous after the one last Sunday. This year may be a bad one for hungry animals, including bears. The drought has dried up the creek. The April freeze killed any hope of figs, and probably of hickory nuts, too. I'm told that there will be no acorns. Blackberry bushes abound, but I'm told they need lots of rain. If drought conditions persist, there will be no blackberries. I'm not sure about crabapples. The deer always love those.

That's the news from Muskrat Creek. What a lot of wild critters we've seen!

Old Rome Road and a question...

2007-06-09T00:55:00.000-04:00

I never know what questions will come into the archives. Today's question was about Old Rome Road, a short local road outside of Dalton, in Whitfield County, Georgia. The researcher said that her mother remembered it as the main road. She wanted to know if Rome Road was the old name for Highway 41. It's difficult to find road names on the 1908 map ~ if there are any. Community names are there, and I think some of the smaller roads have names. The caller said that this had been the main road going through Five Springs years ago.

Even though I haven't located a "Rome Road" on an old map yet, it occurred to me that road names follow a pattern. Here, most road names that have a town name in them are main roads that lead to the town. Five Springs Road leads to Five Springs Community. Cleveland Highway (Highway 71) leads to Cleveland (Tennessee). In Chatsworth, part of US Route 76 is called "Dalton Highway" (leading to Dalton); in Dalton, the same thoroughfare is called "Chatsworth Highway" (main highway leading to Chatsworth). Parts of "old Highway 411" or "Old Dug Gap Road" still exist. It makes sense, then, that the main road leading South out of Dalton would have been called "Rome Road" or "Rome Highway."

To test this theory, I searched the 'Net and found that Sugar Valley and Calhoun have roads called "Old Rome-Dalton Road." Rome, Georgia, has an "Old Dalton Road." This seems to support the idea that the main highway (now 41) was probably called locally, "Old Rome Road," and a segment of it still bears the name. I can't be sure of it, and would like to find it so designated on an old map. I'm going to recheck the 1908 map (road names aren't always apparent on it, though every other landmark is well marked). If anyone has information on this, we would appreciate it!

Grateful Rain and Murphy's Law...

2007-06-09T00:40:00.000-04:00

We in North Georgia are grateful for today's rain! It has been so-o-o-o dry!

Murphy's Law: As luck would have it, I did just get caught in the rain as I ran out to the shed to check on some books (donated for rummage). I fear that the shed may flood a little. The floor was still dry when I left, but the rain was coming down fast, and the shed is in a low-lying spot.

Historic Preservation in Dalton, Georgia

2007-06-07T23:48:00.003-04:00

Dalton, Georgia: Quick update from the archives... Crown Gardens and Archives was closed for about two hours today to allow Whitfield-Murray Historical Society to set up a table at a local Historic Preservation event that took place at Dalton Green (park). The importance of historic preservation was discussed. Dalton has a large area of Civil War battlements that still exist, including Rocky Face Ridge, a large tract of which has been purchased and is now out of danger of development. There was a nice lunch and had some great entertainment (some funny imitations of the Blues Brothers and a great Patsy Cline act)!

Organizations/Participants:
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
North Georgia Regional Development Center
City of Dalton
Whitfield-Murray Historical Society
Mary Jane Mohr (local author)
(Other groups and participants/complete list not available).

The remainder of the day at the archives was pretty busy, with a couple of researchers and several calls. A woman brought by a beautiful old chenille spread to show us. It is supposed to be one of the Gone-With-The-Wind spreads. It is not known whether the spread was actually used in the movie, or was sold as a souvenir around the time that the movie was released. The spread was gorgeous, as chenille bedspreads go, with a lovely basket-and-vine design. More research would have to be done to find the origin of the spread, and the owner is going to continue to research it. The archives does own one of the actual spreads used in the movie, Gone With the Wind. (Dalton is in North Georgia.)

A Busy Day at the Archives (Dalton, Georgia)

2007-06-07T01:58:00.000-04:00

Today was a busy day at the archives (Crown Gardens and Archives, Dalton, Georgia). We had several visitors who came to do research, and a dozen phone calls. It never fails to amaze me that all visitors and phone calls seem to come at once... it goes from solitude to chaos all at once. My first few days were wonderfully quiet. I got quite a bit done... a little research, typing up some articles, putting up a new display of old buttons. I even managed a sketch of the little girl in the atrium (she's a little statue, topping a birdbath).

The atrium is my favorite part of the archives, I think. It's a secret little courtyard in the middle of the building. One could only access it by climbing out a window ~ it's just there to provide visual delight, and as a haven for birds, though I have yet to see any there, thanks to the drought. It is somewhat neglected and could stand some TLC in the way of repairs and beautification ~ as could the whole building.

The archives has been really busy these last few days, so I accomplish less in the way of little projects that I had planned. I believe I have been initiated!

Old Maps of Whitfield County and Murray County, Georgia

2007-06-07T00:28:00.000-04:00

Today at the archives (Dalton, Georgia), a family researcher brought in a copy of a pony-homestead document (explanation below). The pony-homestead document doesn't fully describe the property, and he hoped to find out a little more about the homestead. We looked at the 1879 map of Whitfield County, Georgia, and located his great-grandfather's name on a land-lot near Prater's Mill (Varnell, Georgia). The land-lot numbers on that map are particularly hard to read, so we looked at the 1908 Whitfield County map, as well. That one is much clearer and the lot numbers are the same. Sure enough, his grandfather's name was on the same land-lot as his great-grandfather's had been.

That's the great thing about those old topographical maps. They show the names of property owners, as well as numbered land-lots, with grain mills, churches, schools, railroads, mountains, and other geographical landmarks. The researcher knew that the old homestead was east of Prater's Mill, but he was confused by some plat descriptions he had read. They seemed to describe a different piece of land than what he knew of the property. We may have cleared up the mystery. Numbering of the land-lots starts over in each section. What's more, the numbers ascend in a row, then drop down to the next row and descend back down to the sectional lines. It means that two drastically different land-lot numbers can be right next to each other. A person just reading a description on a deed might think that the deeds described several separate tracts in different areas of the county ~ while they actually described one piece of property, carved out of several adjacent land-lots.

Words of advice for anyone hoping to find an ancestor mentioned on a map: it would be difficult, if not impossible, to locate the land-lot without having some idea of the district or community wherein the landowner resided. Also, the map would only show contemporary property owners; that is, an 1879 map might be helpful for a researcher seeking an 1870-1880 property owner ~ but not for one seeking a 1920 property owner. The names were put there by the mapmaker, not by later researchers. Still, one can usually find an ancestor's militia district, town, or community in census. Often, this information (with a little patience and good eyesight) is all that is needed to locate the surname on the map, if the ancestor owned property.
____________________________________________
FYI:

Land-lots are squares of approximately 160 acres. The numbering of them can seem confusing until they are viewed on a map. A land-lot can even extend across county borders. For example: Whitfield and Murray County, Georgia, are divided by the Conasauga River, with Whitfield lying on the western side of the river. On the eastern, topmost section of Whitfield County is the 10th district, 3rd section of the county. This corresponds with the 10th district, 3rd section of Murray County ~ the western , topmost section of Murray. A land-lot lying on the county line may have its western half in Whitfield County and its eastern half in Murray County, with the river being the dividing line. One example of this is land-lot 9 in the 10th district, 3rd section of both counties. The western half of the lot lies in Whitfield County, and the eastern half lies in Murray County.

A pony-homestead document is an old application for tax exemption of the homestead value by a property owner. It lists the possessions of the homeowner, including household items, livestock, and tools. It doesn't give a full description of the property as a deed does, but it may give the acreage and general location of the land. We do not have the pony-homestead documents at the archives. Researchers sometimes bring in their own copies of such courthouse records.

The archives is Crown Garden and Archives in Dalton, Georgia. It is the headquarters for Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.

Thoughts on the Black Bear that Came to Visit...

2007-06-05T18:55:00.004-04:00

I wasn't scared of the bear Sunday. Then, the visit was just a bizarre and exciting occurrence, a startling appearance at the window of a big, old giant teddy bear. I was secure within my home, and even those big bear claws on the window panes seemed only a novelty. I felt privileged at having witnessed it, at being honored by his visit.

Today, I have to report that a newfound fear of the black bear has crept into my consciousness. Once again, as happened at the time we found the giant claw-print, I have begun to feel... not so safe. I dread his possible return. A waving hill of tall, creamy, plush grass on the roadside reminds me of the bear's fur ~ not in color, but in its thick furriness. Will I meet the bear as I dash out to my car in the morning, forgetting to look? Will he poke his head around the corner as I take too long to unlock the door, carrying in plates of take-out?

It is disconcerting to learn that, while black bears are usually not considered to be aggressive, they are predatory. A grizzly attacks defensively, because he feels threatened. A black bear attacks because he is hungry. It will not do to lie down and play dead when a black bear attacks. You don't want to look too much like the main course!

FOR THE ORIGINAL BLACK BEAR VISITOR, SEE POST BEFORE LAST.

Mr. Carter: Undertaker in Dalton, Georgia

2007-06-05T18:39:00.001-04:00

For the researcher looking for Mr. Carter...

A researcher came by the Crown Gardens and Archives today seeking information on Mr. Carter, a former undertaker and furniture maker in Dalton, Georgia. He was known for having owned or run West Hill Cemetery in Dalton. It got kind of busy at the archives and the researcher left without leaving us any contact information. I've found the first names ~ I believe they were Albert and Charles, possibly a father-and-son pair. (I don't have the source available at home, so please contact us to get the complete source information and to make sure I have the information right.) Sorry about that. It's unusual that we had so many visitors and calls at one time!

Visitor from Muskrat Creek...

2007-06-05T05:00:00.004-04:00

Sunday... and a bit of excitement
when a black bear paid a surprise visit...

Sunday afternoon, blue skies and lazy afternoons ~ the whole family was here. A little earlier, we had been outside, but now we were sitting around the kitchen table eating ice cream bars. My sister starting gesturing wildly and sputtering something incoherent. Since she's not prone to fits, I looked around to see what the problem was. I found myself face to face with a black bear (separated only by a pane of glass). He got up on his hind legs and put his big paws on the window. I stood there with my mouth agape, as did the bear. He was barely a foot away from me and moving his head from side to side, trying to see through the glass. He was small, as black bears go ~ but on his hind legs, he stood nearly as tall as I. Black bears are comical, gangly fellow with big, clumsy claws and scruffy fur. They look deceptively harmless, like overgrown teddy bears.

The bear must have come up the bluff side ~ a small ravine about 30 feet deep that drops steeply down to Muskrat Creek. There's barely a foot or two of land between the house and the bluff, and in between it stood the bear. I have seen black bears once before, at Cades Cove; but I am not accustomed to looking straight down their tonsils! Still, I was unafraid, secure and protected within the house.

After giving up on the window, the bear wandered along the narrow path to the back yard, where he sniffed around the grill, stuck his head into a bucket and lapped up some rainwater. Rain is a rare commodity in Georgia these days. But we had a brief downpour a few days ago and Mother had caught some of it in a bucket.

We scrambled, madly looking for a camera, and the bear moseyed off toward the back woods. My niece snapped a picture just as her batteries went dead ~ I'm waiting to hear if she got the shot.